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Mick Bennett, Tour of Britain race director, told Cycling Weekly: “When I have spoken to the top sprinters in the teams – the Mark Cavendishs, [Alexander] Kristoffs, [Marcel] Kittels, [Nacer] Bouhannis – they have loved the course.

“They like the idea that one year the course will be more in their favour and they’re excited.”

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Bradley Wiggins was among the riders that came through Gloucester during the 2016 Tour of Britain.

Bennett added: “We have had extreme finishes in the past and four years ago we introduced the hill-top finish.

“We decided this year to come down the east side of the country more, to have a classic 10 mile time trial [in Clacton], but also to have a race for the rouleurs and sprinters this time, instead of having a race more varied, for the all-round rider.

“We’ve also introduced circuit finishes in the fishing venue: we look at innovation each year. This is the change – whether it’s a good one, we are going to find out.”